So Mote It Be
by Inki Yumemiru Hito
Summary: Returning home Katrina finds adventure and trouble waiting for her with her half brother Yusuke Urameshi. Love, pain, deceit magic and mysteries await her as she makes new friends and fights old enemies all to find the truth behind the book that chose her.
1. Home

Chapter 1

_Home_

"The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast."

_Oscar Wilde_

Setting down my book I turned to my companion and watched him. Not much in the way of an expression, but it was enough to know that I was irritating him to no end. Smiling I turned back to the rest of the interior of the taxi and suppressed a sigh. Yusuke was used to me not talking much and I was still jittery from my long flight from the U.S.

As I watched Tokyo go by I was amazed at how much I had missed my old home. It had changed so much after father and I left. The people and the parks, the schools and the companies, they were all so different than I remembered from my time spent here as a child of six. Now I was back and discovering that life had not stopped to wait for me. I missed New York City, but I was willing to make this my new home.

With father dead that only left my half-brother Yusuke and my mother. That is if I didn't want to stay with my step-mom. That woman gave me the creeps and I was more than happy to accept my mother's offer to return to Japan and live with her. At the age of nineteen I could technically live on my own, but I figured that I owed it to mom and Yusuke to at least give Japan a chance.

Just then the taxi pulled up next to an apartment building and Yusuke unfolded himself from his seat. Going to the trunk he pulled out my suitcase and my duffel bag as I grabbed my tote and toddled after him up the stairs after he paid for the fair. As we walked over to the elevator I noticed that I was accumulating the eyes of all the passers in the lobby. Ducking my head I had to jog to catch up to Yusuke as he pressed the button for the elevator.

Trying not to stand next to him, but still close enough that I could talk to him I eyeballed the man behind the desk. He was talking on the phone while checking out my chest and hips without being too obvious about the whole thing. The doorman on the other hand didn't have that much professionalism and he was whacked by the revolving door when I turned to Yusuke to see him pull out a cigarette and light it up.

Frowning I reached up and plucked it from between his lips while putting one hand on my hips and cocking my head to the side. "Couldn't offer me one?" I asked as I took a drag off it then blew a perfect smoke ring into his face. Behind me you could have heard a pin drop.

"That was my last one, Kat." Yusuke said glaring at me. His glare had never scared me and I just smiled up at him.

"Well isn't that just the saddest thing I've heard all day. God you're such a baby." I said walking past him and into the elevator as it opened. When I passed him I placed the cigarette back in his mouth and closed the door before he could enter. Pressing the top floor I waited for the door to open and dug through my tote while I stood there. Mom had mailed me a key in case Yusuke forgot to pick me up and I had to get to the condo by myself.

Slipping out of the elevator I walked to mom's condo and put the key in the lock. Even if Yusuke ran up the stairs he still had to deal with my luggage and me if anything broke. Smiling I turned to hear a door open at the end of the hall and was surprised to see my brother walk through looking like he owned the place. Shrugging it off I walked into the condo and slammed the door closed with my heel.

I was physically exhausted and wanted to take a nice sit-down bath before mom got home from work. As I threw my bag on a chair I heard the door open and Yusuke walk in. Looking up I watched as he kicked off his shoes and walked to a door on the left with my bags. Picking my tote back up, I followed him and noticed that there was three bedrooms. Smiling I walked into my new room and stopped short.

It was bare of everything except a bed and dresser with a mirror hanging over it. There was a door leading into what I guessed to be the closet and another one leading into the bathroom. Opening one of the doors Yusuke put my belonging inside and shut it.

"Dinner's at eight o'clock if you're hungry. Mom gets home at around five and my room is the one on the left of yours if you need anything." With that he walked out of the room and headed to his own. Shrugging it off, I stood there looking at my new place. Heading over to the door that Yusuke had opened I pulled out my duffel and tossed it on the bed. Unzipping it I pulled out my bath supplies and headed to the second door.

Upon opening it I found myself in a room the size of my bedroom back home. With a large Jacuzzi in one corner, a shower in another, one wall was dedicated to a sink and a closet in the corner opposite the shower. Between the shower and Jacuzzi was a door leading into a small closet with shelves full of towels and bedding supplies for my room. To say it was heaven was an understatement seeing as my last bathroom was a sink, toilet and a shower. Laughing I walked over to the sink and placed my small bag of things on it.

It was almost seven when mom got home that night and I had decided that I would make her some dinner. It had taken me almost an hour to get everything that I needed and I ended up having to bother Yusuke for some help. Getting his help was one thing getting people to stop staring was a totally different one. I was starting to get extremely pissed off at everybody when we got back to the condo that I didn't realize that Yusuke was trying his hardest not to laugh his ass off at me. This though was the icing on the cake.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?" I screamed at him. This though made him loose it and he fell to the floor laughing. Pissed off and ashamed at myself I walked into mom's kitchen and started to cook some food that I hoped would turn out successful. I'm not saying I'm a bad cook; it's just that I never really found the time to practice as much as I probably should have. I could cook the basics and if I had a recipe I could make a decent meal.

As it turned out it was a good thing that I didn't know how to cook much. After about an hour of trying to get the food right I had to settle with a simple soup and rice with a side of fish. Like I said simple. Then I placed the table and discovered that Yusuke had videotaped me trying not to destroy a relatively simple dish. And that is what started the chase around the condo that mom came home to with her guest. Me plus baseball bat plus Yusuke laughing his head off equals one pissed off mother.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Atsuko yelled when she walked in with a brunette behind her. At that moment was not the best time to walk in I must say. I had finally caught Yusuke and was straddled across his hips on the couch trying to strangle him. To anybody who came in though it looked like we were having a make-out session on the couch.

"Mom!" We both shouted at the same time as we tumbled off the couch and onto the floor in a tangle of limbs and banging heads. Cursing I retched my arm from under Yusuke and proceeded to use him to untangle myself and literally run over him to mom. Jumping on her I caught the eye of the girl behind her. She was short and had short cropped hair that just brushed her collar bone when she swung her head, with her large chocolate eyes on me I could almost feel the burning hatred radiating off of her.

"You must be Nii-sans girlfriend." I stated as I held out my hand to her. Looking me up and down she nodded her head and proceeded to ignore my hand as she walked past me and over to Yusuke. "Nice to meet you, too." I mumbled under my breath following her with my eyes.

Looking at my mom she just shrugged and hugged me again. Then I frowned. I only made enough food for three people. I didn't think mom would bring home somebody else.

"Why don't I make us all something to eat?" Mom said heading to the kitchen.

"Kat already made us diner mom, but we weren't expecting you to bring Keiko home with you." Yusuke said making me turn pale. The girl already hated me and now I was adding insult to injury.

"Oh that's ok I wasn't all that hungry to begin with and I still have some unpacking to do. You three can eat and I'll just go finish with that." I said trying to smooth over the choppy waters quickly with my brothers girl. If he was going to be with her I didn't want us to be on bad terms.

"Really?" Both my mom and brother asked at the same time. They both knew that I had a bottomless pit for a stomach and could eat Yusuke under the table with ease and still be hungry.

"Yeah, plus I sampled all the food while I was cooking it to make sure it turned out alright. You guys enjoy yourselves." I said putting my fake smile in place and ushered them to the dining area of the open floored condo.

"Thanks." Keiko said as she turned to follow Yusuke over to eat.

Walking into my room I flung myself down onto the bed and felt my stomach grumble at me for not eating when I was so hungry. Frowning I rolled over onto my side and curled into the fetal position and waited for the sounds to subside. It wasn't like this was my first time going for a long period of time without food.

As I sat there I looked at the wall and realized that there were no windows in my room. Crawling off my bed I walked over to the wall and saw that there were panels running the length of the wall. On the wall as you were looking at it was a switch all the way to the left that looked like a light switch, flipping it I jumped back when the wall started to move. Slowly the wall gave way to wide windows and a sliding glass door that opened out onto a balcony. Smiling I walked out onto the balcony and found myself assaulted by the sounds of the Tokyo night.

Looking around I saw there was a fire escape to the right and another balcony to the left was another patio separated by several feet of open air. Looking down I saw that we were overlooking the main road and the entrance to the building. Smiling I walked back into my room and grabbed my tote, dumped it on my bed and found a pen and piece of paper. Writing on it in capital letters I then found the little role of tape I always carried and walked over to my door. Opening the door I taped the letter onto it then proceeded to close the door and lock it behind me. Grabbing my purse out of my duffel at the end of the bed I walked to my closet and shuffled through my suit case.

As soon as I found an outfit that I liked I changed and headed out the balcony door and down the fire escape. Smiling I started to laugh at my escape.


	2. Faces

Chapter 2

_Faces_

"Strangers are exciting, their mystery never ends. But, there's nothing like looking at your own history in the faces of your friends."

_Ani Difranco_

My dad had always told me to watch out for strangers, but how do you watch out for strangers when you live among a sea of them. How do you portray that you aren't interested in a person when they are so clearly interesting. That was a problem the world all-around had to face day after day.

As I slid from my room and to the streets of Tokyo I didn't wait. I practically ran down the street and found myself a place I could order something to eat. The first place I stopped at was a sushi bar that had a belt that served you different kinds of sushi as it went by you. Paying at the door I started to eat and enjoy my dinner until I felt eyes on me. Looking around I saw several boys staring at me and almost every girl was glaring. Shifting uncomfortably I turned back to the food and took a sip of the water I ordered.

After eating my fill and getting stared at I headed out of the shop and ran straight into two boys. As sudden as it was I didn't quite catch my balance and went crashing to the ground. Pissed didn't describe how I was feeling, take pissed and times it by about three and you might get close to what I was feeling.

As I sat there I viewed the two boys as one of them rushed to help me. Brushing him off, I watched as the other just shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. Jerk, he could have at least said he was sorry. Sure I was the one who had accidentally run into them in my haste to get the hell out of the sushi shop, but that didn't call for him being so rude. Jumping to my feet in a smooth and highly practiced move I spun and was about to curse him out when his friend stopped him.

"Hiei, you really should apologize to her. It was an accident and you are being rude about the whole thing." The taller of the two said to his dark companion. Sighing, the dark-haired boy turned back to me and glared.

"Sorry you can't watch where you're going." Then he turned and started to walk off. Standing there I noticed the tall boy smile in a way of apology and jog to catch up with Hiei. Glaring I started to shake and wished that one of the displays that they were walking past would suddenly fly out and hit him on the head.

No sooner had I wished it than one of the books flew out and landed solidly on the side of his head. Gasping I could feel the blood drain out of my face and I felt my stomach drop out of the bottom of my feet. Stumbling forward I gently picked up the book and looked between the man on the ground holding his head and the object in my hand. Neither had seen me pick the book up and it had all happened so fast that I just started to shake.

"What the hell was that for baka?" Hiei howled out. Looking at the book I saw the blood on the binding and quickly dug some yen from my bag and handed it to the man behind the display. Dumping the book in my bag and the rest of my money I sidled past the two boys and then started to sprint down the walk.

"Hey, get back here onna." Hiei said as he tried to follow. Luckily for me he was held back by his friend and I raced back toward my room.

As I raced up the fire escape I slid the door open and rushed inside totally forgetting to be silent. Opening the door to the closet I grabbed the book and shoved it onto the highest shelve I could while trying to calm my shaking hands.

"Hey, Kat are you ok?" Yusuke asked as he knocked on my door several minutes later.

"Yeah, I… um… just had a bad dream. I fell asleep refolding my clothes. Sorry." I mumbled remembering my note on the door.

"Hey could I get into your bathroom for a minute to get the first aid kit. One of my friends got hit on the head walking over here." Yusuke said trying to open the door to find it locked. "Kat, why's your door locked?"

"No reason." I said quickly opening the door and turned so he didn't see how pale I was. Sitting on the bed I waited for him to get the kit and get the hell out.

"Yusuke, are you in here?" A voice that sounded oddly familiar asked from my door.

"Yeah, the kit wasn't in my mom's room or the half-bath so it's probably in here. Could you come help me look for it Kat I don't want to have to go through your 'things'." Yusuke said saying the last word like I was going to force him to look through my underwear drawer. Jumping off the bed I walked into the bathroom and felt the strange guy follow me in. Opening the closet across from the sink I pulled out one of my small bags and dug around for my first aid kit.

Finding it I handed it to Yusuke and turned to walk back out the door when I caught a glimpse of the guys face. It was the tall guy from the street earlier. Trying to keep my face under control I lowered my head and kept my bangs in front of my eyes. If I could just get them out without wanting me to leave my room I could probably avoid the guy that I had hit.

"Hey, Kurama, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost." Yusuke asked as they both left. Sighing I flopped down onto my bed and covered my eyes with the back of my arm. After several minutes I felt the tension leave my body until I felt myself being lifted off the bed and carried out of my room. Looking up I saw Yusuke with an evil smirk on his face. This was so not good. Struggling I tried in vain to get out of his arms and then I felt myself falling. Twisting in the air I ended up landing on all fours on the couch face to face with a guy I wished I had never met.

To say a person can only go into shock so many times within a set amount of time is redundant. Well that is what I thought until my first day back home in Tokyo. One thing right after another would keep piling up and I soon found that I was on the breaking point. Shaking was nothing to what I was doing right now, trembling was probably closer.

Rolling off the couch I landed in a squat and flipped myself backwards and over the other side of the couch. Apparently he had anticipated what I was going to do because he followed close behind. Spinning I ducked under his arm and my brothers legs rolled to my feet and raced back to my room, jumping through my door I kicked it closed and threw my weight against it as I felt three bodies hit the outside. Struggling, I finally got the lock flipped and started to scream for mom.

"MOMMY!" I yelled over and over like a mantra. God I felt like I was going to be sick. Why did that jerk have to be friends with my Nii-san?

"Yusuke Urameshi! What in the name of god are you doing to your sister's door?" Mom shouted ending the pounding outside my door. Still I kept calling out for mom. The last time I had felt like this was the day that dad had remarried. Objects in my room started to float off the bed and fly in a vortex around me. Clenching my eyes shut I felt objects hit me and heard them bang against the wall. Crying I curled in the fetal position in the middle of the floor.

"Kat open the door." Listening I heard my mom try to get into my room. If I could have I would, but all I could do was sit there and beg for it to end.

"Mom, move." Yusuke said and I hear them shuffle around outside my room. Panicking my breathing started to accelerate and the objects moved faster. Suddenly the door was open and mom rushed into the room only to freeze at the entrance.

"What the…" The guy Yusuke had called Kurama said as he entered the room. Then Hiei walked in and I freaked. Gasping I felt a retching pull in the pit of my stomach and the world seemed to swim before my eyes until all I could see was him. Then I heard someone growl and objects seemed to fly directly at him. Then the world was black.

Have you ever had a dream and you woke up praying that it wasn't real even though it felt like it. If you ever have then you will know how I felt as I slowly woke from my state of unconsciousness. Maybe that is why is did what I did next, or maybe it was the fact that Yusuke was curled up next to me on my bed. I screamed, tears running down my cheeks as I jackknifed straight up in my bed only to immediately curl around my knees to try and reduce the pain. It wasn't until I was able to control my breathing that I felt the hand running up and down my back.

"Kat?" Yusuke asked quietly tucking a strand of my fiery red hair behind my ear. Sniffing I rolled my head to look at him and groaned as my stomach churned. Glaring I heard him stifle a groan of his own as the thought of me hurling ran through his head.

Suppressing my urge to smile I scooted a little closer to him and placed my head on his shoulder. Closing my eyes I waited for the floor to stop moving towards the ceiling and had to swallow hard to keep from actually puking. Licking my lips to give them moisture I finally got the energy to speak.

"What time is it?"

"It's a little after two in the morning." Yusuke answered my raspy question.

"What happened? After I passed out I mean. Is your friend ok?" I mumbled.

"He's doing fine, how much do you remember?"

"Everything, from the moment I got to Tokyo to when I hit Hiei with the book on accident. Then I came back here and you brought me out there, then I freaked out. It happened all so fast. I locked the door and my stuff started to float. I'm scared Yusuke." I muttered hiding my face against his shoulder.

"Well after you locked the door I tried breaking it down. All of us did. Hiei was pissed and Kurama was worried, he said you didn't smell right…"

"Huh, how does he know what I smell like?" I asked quizzically.

"Um I have to let him tell you that. Anyway he picked the lock after mom came and tried to get you to unlock the door. She was petrified when she walked in. She knows all about me and the boys being different but I kept my promise to you to never tell anybody that you could see and talk to ghost." Smiling he kissed my hair and pulled me into a better position.

"Thanks. I'm sorry you had to see me go through this again." I mumbled. Smiling he just hugged me like he always would when we were little and I just broke down.


	3. Soul

Chapter 3

_Soul_

"Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice."

_Unknown_

I stayed in my room for three days before I even found I was hungry. If it weren't for that fact I probably wouldn't have even left my room. As it was I only went into the kitchen and found some leftover curry from the night before that mom and Yusuke had tried to get me to eat. Nibbling on it I carried it to my room and sat down on my bed.

Placing my plate on the nightstand I picked up my sketch book that I had previously discarded and continued to draw the images that had been so vivid in my dreams. I finally finished with my current page and then wrote in the captions for the image. Looking it over I felt a deep depression settle into my chest and I flipped the book closed.

Standing up I headed into my closet and looked at all my belongings. Having just moved in, my belongings were still in box's that I had yet to go through. Looking at them all I felt my eyes sting as I thought of my father. He had remarried yes, but at the time he had done it for me thinking I needed a woman in my life after I had been released from the asylum.

Dragging boxes from the closet I placed them all around my room and totally emptied out the closet. The last thing I took out was the book that I had hit Hiei with. Frowning I looked at it and read the title. **_The Advanced Spell Book for Black Magic_** was prominently written across the top in a swirling ruby script. Looking for an author and found that there was none.

"Would have been more useful if it was for controlling telekinesis, instead of black magic?" I mumbled with a sigh. Just then the book warmed abruptly making me drop it. As I watched the title, it seemed to be absorbed into the cover and a silvery blue metallic script came into focus. Rereading the new title it read **_Powers of the Mind and Body; Learning Control and Self Discipline._**

Gasping I stooped down and poked the book to be sure it was cool enough to handle. When my fingers touched it though, I was amazed. The texture before had been of aged leather that had sat for long periods in a drawer and had dried out, now though it was as soft as velveteen and a deep blue instead of the black from earlier.

Smiling I snatched the book off the floor and walked over to my night stand and placed it carefully in the top drawer. I was going to read that as soon as I could and hopefully get my powers under control. With that I turned back to the mess I had made of my room.

Several of the boxes were quite large and contained my furniture that I had decided I didn't want to leave behind in the states. The largest one was my vanity that my dad had made for me. Digging in my purse I pulled out my pocket knife and started to unpack the large box. As soon as the box was gone I pushed the vanity up against the wall between the doors to the closet and bathroom. Smiling I grabbed my box full of pictures and unpacked all of them as well.

I pulled out my computer and monitor and placed them for the time being on my vanity and mentally reminded myself to get a computer desk. After several hours I sat on the edge of my bed and finish off my now cold curry. It was several minutes later that I heard the door open and Yusuke's voice in the living room.

Curious I crawled off the bed and carried my food with me to the door. Cracking open the door I saw Kurama disappearing into Yusuke's room and then it closed. Frowning I slipped out of my room and walked over to the kitchen and dumped my plate in the sink. Still hungry I started to look through the cupboards for anything that was edible. Opening the one next to the fridge I stood on my tip toes and reached in to get the peanuts when I got a little dizzy. Without thinking about it, I grabbed the shelves and then I was falling.

Needless to say the crash was excruciatingly loud in the silence of the condo. Grabbing my head I tried to get the room to stop spinning when I felt a hand on my arm hauling me off the floor. Blinking I saw several faces watching me as I staggered and then I was totally off the floor and in Yusuke's arms.

"Put me down you monkey!" I shouted as I pulled myself into a ball making me harder to hold. Cursing Yusuke was forced to place me on the couch instead of carry me to my room. Struggling to hold the curry in my stomach I groaned into my arms as I curled into the fetal position. God, how I hated being weak.

"What the hell are you doing out of your bed?" Yusuke asked as he brushed his hand against my forehead checking for a fever.

"I'm fine." I croaked with a groan. Well that was real convincing. Nothing sounds like you're on your death bed, than a coarse voice. Just then my stomach eased and then grumbled real loudly making me blush. Moaning I swung at Yusuke when he snickered and managed to hit him in the shoulder.

"Do you want something to eat?" Kurama asked smiling gently.

"Not if Hiei's anywhere near the preparation. I would like to see my 20th birthday if at all possible." I said laughing at the expression on Hiei's face. Sighing I slumped into the back of the couch and tried not to think to hard about anything around me. I found that my mind wasn't nearly as willing to stop thinking as the rest of me was, for I kept finding myself thinking of the book in my room that had hit Hiei on the head. "Hey Yusuke, do you know of any books that can change into whatever the holder wants it to be?"

"What?" Yusuke asked looking at me quizzically. Even though he asked I could tell he knew more than he wanted me to know, the others were the same giving me puzzling looks while shifting looks between them that screamed they knew.

"Well I dreamed about a book that could change itself. Guess my imaginations getting the better of me again." Laughing I went to stand and almost collapsed. Why did I have to look like a pansy in front of everybody even though I was a physically and mentally strong person? It just made me sick.

Three weeks and I was still in bed, constantly reading my newest book. Stuffing it under my pillow and grabbing a sappy romance whenever Yusuke would come into my room. Starting small I started to meditate every night like the book said and concentrate on an object that I could carry with me wherever I went. That just happened to be a pair of throwing star earrings that my dad had given me for my sixteenth birthday.

Slowly I started to push a little at the object. Not physically but mentally and I was so startled the first day that they started to float that I shrieked. Yusuke and the boys came running into my room making me fall off my vanity stool. As I laid there blinking up at them I noticed the fourth boy.

Ugly wasn't even good enough for this kid. He was hideous with his orange hair.

"Um yeah. Hi and good-bye." I said pushing myself up off the ground and picking up my earrings.

"What were you screaming about?" Yusuke asked in concern as he helped me off the floor.

"Nothing, just dozed off while fixing my earrings and fell off the chair. It startled me was all. Now can you all please leave and take ugly with you." I said pointing to the door.

Walking out I got several concerned looks from the boys and one really hurt look from the new boy. As soon as the door was closed though I tried to concentrate on the door handle more specifically the lock. Mentally visualizing it I mentally twisted the lock and watched as it clicked locking the door. Smiling I turned back to my earrings and started all over to make them float.

Days went by with me verily leaving my room. Both my mother and brother would bring me food and I could tell they were worried about me. Then one day Keiko showed up just when I was feeling well enough to leave my room.

I was startled to find that the three boys and several other girls were all congregating at my mother's kitchen table when I left my room. As I crossed the open living room the conversation at the table went dead silent and I hurried to get my food and head back to my room.

If I had known that my powers would act up every time I was around them I would have had Yusuke ban them from the house. As it was I was really nervous and that was my first mistake. Gathering my food from the fridge I hurried to warm it up so I could leave the awkward silence. Then I heard his voice.

_Maybe if she is dreaming about the book then she might have a clue as to where to find it._

_No, you are not using my little sister to find it. Probing her mind could upset her powers and that is the last thing she needs. Especially right now, with her father dying and all. All I want Kurama is to be given time to talk to her myself. _That I knew was Yusuke.

_Sh… both of you, somebody tapped into our conversation._

Gulping I made my breath shallower and tried to concentrate on my earrings as I waited for the microwave to finish. When it dinged I rushed to grab the plate out of it and burned my hand in the process. Cursing I dropped the plate then realized a split second afterwards what I had done tried to grab it again. Then the room froze. Keiko, mom, and another girl were all frozen in the other room while all the others were looking around to see what had happened. Gulping I ducked under the counter grabbed my plate and tried to unfreeze the room.

"Kat?" I heard Yusuke call out and knew I had seconds to fix this or I was so doomed. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and willed the flow of time back into the room. I didn't move until I heard my mom talk.

"Yusuke what are you doing over there?"

Smiling at my little triumph I unfurled myself placed my food on the counter and got myself a glass of milk to go with my food. Grabbing both I walked pass everybody back to my room where I slammed the door shut with my heel and collapsed on my bed after putting my food on the nightstand.

Little did I know a certain crimson eyed demon was watching the whole thing and saw right through my meager attempt to cover my slip of power. Furrowing his brows he turned back to the others to tell them what had happened.


	4. Party

Chapter 4

_Party_

"Live For Today...Plan For Tomorrow...Party Tonight..!"

_Unknown_

Two wonderful weeks of absolute silence. There was nobody to boss me around, nobody to worry about my eating habits and no annoying brother watching my every move. That's what I got when Yusuke went on a trip with his friends and mom was going on a business trip out of the country. Smiling happily I flipped on the TV with my powers and read the book. After mastering most of the minor spells I had learned this really cool one that really helped when I was alone or scared.

All I would have to do was concentrate on something that was in my room and I would will myself to be there, then I would just be there. The first time I did it I was walking home from a bar about a week and a half ago.

**Walking out of the bar I waved to the girls that I had met inside and smiled to myself about my ability to make friends. Walking away I saw this shadow detach itself from a poll out of my peripheral vision across the street. Not really thinking about it I continued on my way to the place that the girls had said there was a rave going down.**

**Not wanting to be late I lengthened my steps only to roll my ankle in my three inch pumps giving me a moment to pause. Turning slightly I caught the man slow down and continue to watch my every move. Sighing I took the ally and dashed down to the end in my bare feet then continued on my way to where the rave was. **

**When I heard the pounding rhythm of the bass and the haunting melody of the music I sighed, but didn't slow till I was being crushed by the occupants of the abandoned warehouse. Smiling at my small victory I let the rhythm take over my body.**

**By four in the morning I was weary and ready to go home. My feet were aching and I was sure I had bruises on my ass from where people had pinched it. Frowning I slipped out the side door when I was sure nobody was looking. That's when I came face to face with the scene that came straight from my nightmares. **

**Leaning over a young woman was a large man with what looked like horns protruding from his head. From his back draping over his shoulders was the wings of a bat, solid black and shivering from the bass of the music. Swallowing I spun and tried to get back through the door I had just passed through when I came face to face with a man dressed similarly to the one on the floor next to the girl. Backing up I was forced to the wall on the other side of the ally as I listened to the two of them talk.**

**The grunting sounds that they were making made my skin crawl and when I couldn't take the sound any longer I went to make a run for it down the other end of the alley when I saw the third monster. Just like the man from before the rave it detached itself from the shadows and slowly stalking his way over to where I was rooted to the hard concrete floor.**

**That's when I remembered the teleporting spell that I had been reading about in the book. I needed a focal point something in my room that was out in the open that was easily obtainable. Focusing I thought of my vanity in my room and the small stool that went with it that my father had made for me. I was thinking of that when I felt the breath of the creature on my face and opening my eyes I saw his face.**

**It looked like a mask from a horror film only much more real than anything I had ever seen in my life. It had sunken eyes and its lips were pulled back over its teeth revealing its long canines that were dripping saliva. Its eyes gave an onyx glow that echoed deep in black caverns that seemed to never end. Then it was simply gone and I was staring at my reflection in the mirror and listening to my brother snoring in the next room over.**

I had checked in the book for any known monster that fit the description of the beast that I had met and was shocked when the book turned into yet another book before my very eyes. As it heated up it ceased to be as soft as velvet and turned into a hash coarse feeling almost alligator like skin. Then looking at it I watched as scarlet letters scrawled across the front reading **_Creatures of the Third Dimension_**.

Reading about the creatures I leaned that they were actually gentle creatures that were very misunderstood and served as guards to the souls of the living. Only certain people had them though and it was mostly for those who had the potential to become a fierier to the other dimensions. When a potential fierier died or was killed the guardians would congregate and protect the soul until a different fierier was there to bring the soul to the spirit world where it would then be reborn. If a guardian was ever killed then the soul that it guarded became just another soul.

Looking up form my book I was caught watching the TV when I saw another of those creatures following a camerawoman as she was shown briefly on the screen. Smiling I decided I was going to make a new friend before the day was through.

Smiling I slipped pass all the security and made my way to the break room where I knew the woman I was looking for was. Little did I know was that I was being followed by a dark shadow that was just as interested in my destination as I was. Happily humming a small tune to myself and keeping out of everybody's way, I made my way past the other camera crew to find in the back was a small woman with a teenage girl sitting next to her.

Settling next to the wall I watched as the small woman I had seen on TV got up and headed out the door leaving the teenager to finish her lunch. Shocked I watched as the guardian stayed with the teenager instead of following the other woman out of the room. Watching I waited until everybody else had left before I headed over to the girl at the table.

"Hey," I said as I sat down opposite her. "What's your name?"

"Akizakura, but everybody calls me Aki. And what's your name?" Aki asked as she smiled pleasantly at me.

"My name is Katrina, but like you everybody just calls me Kat. My dad is from America while my mom is from Japan. I have a question for you? Even though you may think I'm crazy I really need to know if you can see the creature standing next to you?" I asked half afraid that she would call the police or security.

"Yes." Aki said with a small laugh. "Whenever I tell someone that they have one they always freak out and say I should be locked up in an asylum or something. It is good to know that I am not alone. Like the other day at the rave I snuck out to go to, there was this girl who had three of them following her. I was worried and latter I saw her dead in the ally beside the warehouse. There was somebody else that they were trying to protect as well, but before I got a good look at the person they just up and vanished."

"I think you saw me. It was my first time seeing one and I was really nervous that I teleported myself back to my bedroom." I said smiling at the young girl. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen. I just turned it not too long ago. So you can teleport. That really is amazing. The only thing I can do is levitate things. I really wish I had somebody to teach me what I need to know in order to control my powers. My mom really is at her wits end trying to help me fit in. I wish I was more like you."

"Why me?" I asked laughing.

"Well for starters you seem really confident and self assured. You seem like you know what you want and you aren't afraid to go out and get it for yourself."

"That's not true at all. I'm just as insecure as the next girl you'll meet. In fact I'm more insecure than most due to me not being able to control my powers." I told her honestly. Smiling I decided to take a leap and invite her to my place. Writing down my address I handed it to her. "Here if you ever want to talk or just need somebody who understands just stop on by. I'm almost always home and if you meet my brother his name is Yusuke, just tell him you're a friend of mine."

"Thanks I will. Now stand still." Reaching under the table she pulled out a small digital camera and pointed it at me. Smiling she took my picture and I finally noticed that she had braces. Laughing we sat there and talked until her mother came back and we had to say our good-byes for the time being.

It was two days later that she showed up at my place with a small bag and several books. Smiling she was introduced to the boys, all of whom I had been avoiding, and my mom. After introduction we were in my room. It was latter that I learned that the boys would be gone for two weeks and so would my mom. It would be the perfect time to introduce Aki to the book.

I just couldn't wait for them to leave, yet I was a little sad that my beloved onii-san would be leaving with his annoying friends. If it weren't for them I probably would have told him all about the book and me practicing with my powers to control them better. I was so close to getting better, yet still so far away and now I had somebody who I could share all this with and who could learn with me.

In the next few days before my brother left I spent as much time with him as possible and so did Aki, taking photos and just having a good time. None of us were prepared for what was to come. None of us knew that our happy times of innocence were going to come crashing down on us.

In a few short days my life would drastically change forever.


	5. Pain

Chapter 5

_Pain_

"Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable."

_John Patrick_

Two days after my brother left for his trip the dream started. Really it was more of a nightmare than anything.

It centered on my brother and his friends and a fifth man who I didn't know. They were talking and I could just make out bits and pieces of what they were saying. Then it would jump to a different perspective and I was walking down a drafty hallway heading towards a door. Beyond the door shackled and chained were my brother and his friends all bleeding and withering in pain on the floor. Only Hiei was standing and he would jerk at the end of his chain trying to get to whomever was doing this to them.

Then the person would leave and head to a different room and there would be Aki and another girl who looked just like her. Both of them were cowering in a corner begging for the man to leave them alone. I only knew it was a man due to him reaching out his hand and grabbing Aki's look alike by the hair and jerking her away from Aki who was chained to the wall.

Sobbing I would always wake up at that point. Scared and still quivering from the looks on all their faces I would be unable to sleep after that for hours. In that time I looked up dreams in the book. When I thought of my kind of dream it changed yet again from the book of **_Creatures of the Third Dimension_** to **_The Meaning behind the Sight of Dreams_**. Startled I watched as it turned into a solid white book with pale blue and silver wording on soft, almost fuzzy leather. Flipping it open to the first page I started to read.

As I read I learned about the gods and goddesses of dreams I began to realize that there was a difference between dreams and visions in our dreams. To tell the difference one had to first get in the dream state. Then one would have to do several things. Scared I called up Aki.

"Aki, hey I was wondering if you could spare some time to come and spend the night. I have something to show you." I said not even bothering to be worried.

"Sure I just have to tell my mom. I'll see you in a bit." After saying our good-bye's we hung up and I proceeded to read about the difference between dreams and visions of the future.

It was almost an hour later that Aki showed up at my doorstep smiling sheepishly as she introduced me to a new girl tagging along with her for a few hours.

"Hey, come on in." I said looking at the girl slightly confused. She was about 5' if even that with short choppy hair and freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. Smiling she showed straight pearly teeth that bit at her bottom lip nervously. "Make yourself at home."

"Kat this is Hinagiku. She goes to my support group that mom is making me go to. She can see the guardians as well." Aki quickly explained seeing my look of confusion. "I invited her to come and see you because like me her powers are out of control. She's kind of shy though and you might have to keep the boy's away because she is scared of guys."

"Sorry to be a burden to you. You can call me Hina as well, my real name is just too long to go and say it all the time." Hina said with a shy smile and an outstretched hand. Taking her hand I smiled and shook it.

"Nice too meet you. I was just about to make some hot chocolate if you guys would like to join me." I said heading to the kitchen and picking up my book along the way. "Well I'm glad you joined us. Even with it being such short notice it will be nice to explore your powers with you."

"Thanks. To both of you." Hina said with a little laugh that she hid behind her small hand.

"So Kat what did you want to show me?" Aki asked as she leaned up against the kitchen counter.

"This." I said as I pushed the book onto the counter thinking of the book of meditation I waited and watched as it shifted from the white leather to the midnight blue velvet. Watching their faces I smiled into my cup of hot chocolate. Gasping they reached out and gently ran their fingers along the spine of the cover and opened the book.

"Wow!" both girls exclaimed as they reached out to open the book. Laughing I watched their faces as they flipped through the book.

"Where did you get this and can I have one?" Aki asked as she started to laugh at the amazing book. Suddenly they both dropped the book as is heated up and started to glow. Gapping we watched as it slowly split in to three separate forms. Blinking they started to float and the original which was the book of meditation floated over to me. The other two which were blank floated to Aki and Hina.

Gasping I was startled when they also melded into books of meditation. That was the first time we heard the voice. As we marveled at our books and laughed we were startled into silence as it seemed to float through the room on a cool gentle breeze.

"_Three connected, three to be, from the circle bound by thee. Time will flow, tides will ebb, stars will falter and life will end. The goddesses were chosen. So mote it be._"

"What was that?" Aki asked as she whipped her head around the room looking for the source of the voice.

"I haven't the foggiest." I mumbled my hot coco long growing cold as it sat forgotten on the counter. Looking into the corner of the room where my now familiar Guardian usually sat I noticed that it was also looking curiously about the room.

"What's happening to the books?" Hina asked as she dropped her book that had began to grow warmer.

"They're changing." I stated as I looked at my book as it began to morph. Gone was the book of Meditation, in its place was a golden book that was bound by brass hinges and engraved with flowing silver. Printed in a flowing calligraphy across the front was **_Threads of Fate and the Wheel of Time_**. Gulping I traced the lettering as it settled on the cover.

"Whoa!" Aki said as she blinked several times and rubbed her eyes looking at the book. "Does this happen a lot with the books?"

"The changing thing, yeah. The whole glowing and splitting into three. That would be a no." I said sliding the cover open. Inside on clean crisp paper was my name. Shocked I looked at the other two books to find that they too had Aki and Hina's names written in them. "Guess we won't have to worry about switching them up."

"Yeah." Chuckling we all grabbed our books and moved our operation over to the kitchen table. Pulling up our respective chairs we began to scan the contents of the book. At first none of it made any sense. We pored over the books for hours. It wasn't until Hina's cell went off that we realized how late it was.

"Could you spend the night?" I questioned as Hina talked to her dad. Nodding her head she asked her dad and smiled at us in response. After that we went back to our books. Finally I figured it out.

The books were telling us about people that we didn't even know and what their roles in the world were. I actually got it after I went and looked up my mom's name. Boy did that one shock the hell out of me. For written in neat script was my mother's name, her date of birth and her two children's names. From there I followed the references to Yusuke's name and found that he was a spirit detective that worked for prince Koenma to keep the three worlds peaceful. Blinking, I then looked up my name and almost fell out of my chair.

"Katrina Atsuko O'Shea: Half demon, half spirit. Keeper of the book of knowledge and middle of the three chosen goddesses. Protector of the dimensions and Guardian of the gates. Currently resides with her mother and older brother in Tokyo, Japan..." The book went on to detail everything that was known about me. Things such as my likes and dislikes, but what struck me was the comment about the other half of my soul. It never said a name really seeing as it called him the 'Forbidden Child', but it had me reevaluating my thoughts on living the rest of my life alone.

"Did you two find the entrances about you?" I asked noting the silence in the room as the two girls stared wide eyed at their books.

"Who is the 'Spirit Detective'?" Hina asked as she looked up at me with almost fearful eyes.

"Um...I would guess that would be my brother." I said not really knowing why, but it felt right to say. "Why?"

"It says that the Spirit Detective is the other half of my soul." Hina said blinking back tears as they formed at the corners of her eyes.

"Ok, at least you have an answer to your problem." Aki commented as she started to flip through her book rapidly looking for something. "Who in the blazes is the 'Thief King'? I can't find any references to him in my book anywhere."

"I don't know, did either of you see anything about the 'Forbidden Child'?" I asked starting to flip through my book much like Aki.

"Why can't we just think of whom we are looking for and the answer be right in front of us?" Hina asked as her shoulders sank

"That is an excellent idea." I exclaimed as I slammed my book shut. Closing my eyes I thought of my book changing to be a book about the 'Forbidden Child'. Feeling the book warm up under my palm I opened my eyes to see the book had turned black. There was no wording on the outside of the book and the edges of the pages looked slightly singed as I lifted the cover.

What I saw made me gasp in horror. Staring with untrusting eyes off the page was none other than Hiei Jaganshi.


End file.
